where is KSAC/RMSC going?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
These comments remind of one of the great quotes from Yogi Berra: "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded"....

Since the RMSC coaching is so bad, all the current families can do is keep paying thousands of dollars every year to keep their kids there and there are over 100 kids trying out for a hand full of slots each summer.

What a topsy-turvy, madcap world we live in!

Yea you, not all of us can afford private teams, especially if kids are in multiple sports or activities. No, you aren’t getting the sports. Earn them like our kids did.

Last I checked, it costs thousands of dollars a year for kids to swim club anywhere, RMSC included, so I'm not buying the "poor house", "can't afford" refrain. And if they end up at Silver Spring, tack another $1k/yr to your burn rate for inconvenient parking.... Nobody is doing all that for "horrible coaching", so I'm calling that a lot of bunk.

I have heard that they may have to go with smaller numbers with their groups depending on where they end up for practice sites and how many swimmers these sites can accommodate so there may even be fewer slots, if any, available during tryouts for next year.

Np. I heard JCC is in consideration?

Who’s going to pay for that?

There has been no update since we were told JCC was under consideration. But, I do know the rental fee at the JCC is very expensive, so my guess is it is an unlikely option.

I believe multiple sites are still in play and the likely outcome will be the use of several facilities, as well as smaller groups.

I think you are correct but it would be nice if they’d let us know. They’ve had several years to plan for this. They will probably move some of it to the outdoor pools but they already have summer swim teams and lessons so that may not work until July or August.

So the advanced groups and senior groups at KSAC (or the MAC for those who know) practice at Bethesda Outdoor Pool for most of their summer practices. The non-advanced junior groups and minis do not practice in the summer, so they won't be impacted until the fall session.

You are right, they had years to plan and the change is 3 months away and there is still no plan. This shows the local government bureaucracy at work. Private clubs are able to act aggressively and expand their pool space but the county moves at a glacial pace. Hopefully they can find a plan that works for most families because the coaches at KSAC have built up the site to be the best in the area and would hate to see it crumble. I think a combination of Wheaton-Glenmont and Old Farm Swim and Paddle Tennis would be the options that would keep the most swimmers registered.

I agree with this 100% and hope that any use of Silver Spring for practice is kept the an absolute minimum.

That only works for summer, spring and fall. Too cold in the winter as they are both fully outside.

I don't know about that...I think that might be a historical mindset at this point. That was certainly the sensible planning case to be made 15-20 years ago but with impacts of climate change at play and if the previous two "winters" are to be used as a guide an outside option moving forward may be a viable plan. From what I understand, part of the plan for Glenmont was to enclose the bathrooms so that would make it more feasible to use in winter.

It's a viable plan for spring and fall but not when it gets in the 20-40's. They have a brand new indoor pool. They can hire more staff to extend the hours and RMSC can pay for the coaches parking.

20's no.

40's yes.

Our winters now have more days closer to 40s and above than 20s or below. You can pull up the historical data at noaa.gov to see for yourself. Over the past 2 years, there just haven't been many days over the winter where outdoor in a heated pool wouldn't work. It would seem that this trend isn't going to be reversing in the near future(unfortunately for the planet). Worse case, they could plan for indoor for 4-6 weeks in Jan/Feb but the rest can be done outdoor. The only caveat would be for the mini's - probably want to plan for longer range indoor for them.

Swimming outdoors in 40 degree weather is miserable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:RMSC is under the umbrella of the Rec Department. It is a cash cow that supports all other aquatic rec programming.

Think of it this way:
45 kids in each mini group
45 kids in JR1
45 kids in JR 2

All paying about 1200, so there's 160,000 added to the operating budget just for each site alone.

And that's just the younger, less expensive groups.

Ksac is not set up that way but we have at least 60 kids in some groups with 2-3 coaches at a time. The fees are much more than that. That’s the lowest cost with the minis.

The county handles all the admin but rmsc is a private organization. The county assigns staff to each pool to run the basics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
These comments remind of one of the great quotes from Yogi Berra: "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded"....

Since the RMSC coaching is so bad, all the current families can do is keep paying thousands of dollars every year to keep their kids there and there are over 100 kids trying out for a hand full of slots each summer.

What a topsy-turvy, madcap world we live in!

Yea you, not all of us can afford private teams, especially if kids are in multiple sports or activities. No, you aren’t getting the sports. Earn them like our kids did.

Last I checked, it costs thousands of dollars a year for kids to swim club anywhere, RMSC included, so I'm not buying the "poor house", "can't afford" refrain. And if they end up at Silver Spring, tack another $1k/yr to your burn rate for inconvenient parking.... Nobody is doing all that for "horrible coaching", so I'm calling that a lot of bunk.

I have heard that they may have to go with smaller numbers with their groups depending on where they end up for practice sites and how many swimmers these sites can accommodate so there may even be fewer slots, if any, available during tryouts for next year.

Np. I heard JCC is in consideration?

Who’s going to pay for that?

There has been no update since we were told JCC was under consideration. But, I do know the rental fee at the JCC is very expensive, so my guess is it is an unlikely option.

I believe multiple sites are still in play and the likely outcome will be the use of several facilities, as well as smaller groups.

I think you are correct but it would be nice if they’d let us know. They’ve had several years to plan for this. They will probably move some of it to the outdoor pools but they already have summer swim teams and lessons so that may not work until July or August.

So the advanced groups and senior groups at KSAC (or the MAC for those who know) practice at Bethesda Outdoor Pool for most of their summer practices. The non-advanced junior groups and minis do not practice in the summer, so they won't be impacted until the fall session.

You are right, they had years to plan and the change is 3 months away and there is still no plan. This shows the local government bureaucracy at work. Private clubs are able to act aggressively and expand their pool space but the county moves at a glacial pace. Hopefully they can find a plan that works for most families because the coaches at KSAC have built up the site to be the best in the area and would hate to see it crumble. I think a combination of Wheaton-Glenmont and Old Farm Swim and Paddle Tennis would be the options that would keep the most swimmers registered.

I agree with this 100% and hope that any use of Silver Spring for practice is kept the an absolute minimum.

That only works for summer, spring and fall. Too cold in the winter as they are both fully outside.

Private clubs are practicing outside in winter

This isn’t a private club and it’s too cold in the winter months. They have a brand new pool that was promised to families.

Outside is better than SS. Lots of traffic driving from Bethesda to downtown SS. Pay to park and then risk having your car stolen. Then long drive home. I’d rather swim outdoor close to ksac than do that

Your car isn’t getting stollen. I’d rather go to silver spring than Bethesda.

I mean, if you were already at KSAC you have been going to Bethesda, that is where the site you joined is located.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
These comments remind of one of the great quotes from Yogi Berra: "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded"....

Since the RMSC coaching is so bad, all the current families can do is keep paying thousands of dollars every year to keep their kids there and there are over 100 kids trying out for a hand full of slots each summer.

What a topsy-turvy, madcap world we live in!

Yea you, not all of us can afford private teams, especially if kids are in multiple sports or activities. No, you aren’t getting the sports. Earn them like our kids did.

Last I checked, it costs thousands of dollars a year for kids to swim club anywhere, RMSC included, so I'm not buying the "poor house", "can't afford" refrain. And if they end up at Silver Spring, tack another $1k/yr to your burn rate for inconvenient parking.... Nobody is doing all that for "horrible coaching", so I'm calling that a lot of bunk.

I have heard that they may have to go with smaller numbers with their groups depending on where they end up for practice sites and how many swimmers these sites can accommodate so there may even be fewer slots, if any, available during tryouts for next year.

Np. I heard JCC is in consideration?

Who’s going to pay for that?

There has been no update since we were told JCC was under consideration. But, I do know the rental fee at the JCC is very expensive, so my guess is it is an unlikely option.

I believe multiple sites are still in play and the likely outcome will be the use of several facilities, as well as smaller groups.

I think you are correct but it would be nice if they’d let us know. They’ve had several years to plan for this. They will probably move some of it to the outdoor pools but they already have summer swim teams and lessons so that may not work until July or August.

So the advanced groups and senior groups at KSAC (or the MAC for those who know) practice at Bethesda Outdoor Pool for most of their summer practices. The non-advanced junior groups and minis do not practice in the summer, so they won't be impacted until the fall session.

You are right, they had years to plan and the change is 3 months away and there is still no plan. This shows the local government bureaucracy at work. Private clubs are able to act aggressively and expand their pool space but the county moves at a glacial pace. Hopefully they can find a plan that works for most families because the coaches at KSAC have built up the site to be the best in the area and would hate to see it crumble. I think a combination of Wheaton-Glenmont and Old Farm Swim and Paddle Tennis would be the options that would keep the most swimmers registered.

I agree with this 100% and hope that any use of Silver Spring for practice is kept the an absolute minimum.

That only works for summer, spring and fall. Too cold in the winter as they are both fully outside.

I don't know about that...I think that might be a historical mindset at this point. That was certainly the sensible planning case to be made 15-20 years ago but with impacts of climate change at play and if the previous two "winters" are to be used as a guide an outside option moving forward may be a viable plan. From what I understand, part of the plan for Glenmont was to enclose the bathrooms so that would make it more feasible to use in winter.

It's a viable plan for spring and fall but not when it gets in the 20-40's. They have a brand new indoor pool. They can hire more staff to extend the hours and RMSC can pay for the coaches parking.

Most other clubs swim outside in the winter at this point. RMSC might need to buy a winter coat and toughen up

Name a single DC-area club that swims outside in winter

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Following this conversation out of curiosity. My children swim in NoVA, so I know very little about RMSC. I keep seeing people referencing private clubs versus RMSC, which has me confused. (While many clubs lease space from public rec centers, I am unaware of any public clubs in NoVA.) Is RMSC a county-run program? How does that work?

RMSC is a private "non-profit" but they have collaboration with the county and get the use of the pools for free/dominate the county indoor pools. (Summer leagues are run by the county). For the city of Rockville location, it's a collaboration between the county and city so they get even more discounted rates but it's the hardest one to get into. They are cheaper than private clubs that have to rent space, some groups are much cheaper, some not. A few years ago they raised the rates a lot, which made no sense when they are getting the pool time for free. They claimed it was for salaries but some groups have 50-60 kids and 2-4 coaches (a few coaches talked about here as bad are the groups with fewer coaches as no one wants to work with them).

Montgomery County does now allow private swim teams to rent from the county and they have to use/rent private pools through JCC, HOA's, private pools, and some of the private schools that have pools, which makes it much more expensive.

http://rmscswimming.com

That's factually inaccurate.

They are not paying for pool time.

Every time this comes up, I beg someone to find the financials. I have tried and come up empty. But, I have a hard time believing RMSC as a business pays nothing to the County (or City for Rockville).

It would help RMSC to actually publish this and clear up some misunderstandings and complaints, or at the least be transparent.

They pay, it's just not clear exactly how much. There are roughly 1700 kids, give or take, in RMSC. Each one of these kids pay their fees directly to Montgomery Co. Rec. Dept. These monies then cover some portion of the pool operating expenses at each of the 5 sites, paying the coaches, and other additional fees to operate the club/program such as meet entry fees, etc.

Because of the partnership with the county/city, I would expect that their cost per swimmer per unit of time is lower than private clubs, it's not zero as some keep saying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
These comments remind of one of the great quotes from Yogi Berra: "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded"....

Since the RMSC coaching is so bad, all the current families can do is keep paying thousands of dollars every year to keep their kids there and there are over 100 kids trying out for a hand full of slots each summer.

What a topsy-turvy, madcap world we live in!

Yea you, not all of us can afford private teams, especially if kids are in multiple sports or activities. No, you aren’t getting the sports. Earn them like our kids did.

Last I checked, it costs thousands of dollars a year for kids to swim club anywhere, RMSC included, so I'm not buying the "poor house", "can't afford" refrain. And if they end up at Silver Spring, tack another $1k/yr to your burn rate for inconvenient parking.... Nobody is doing all that for "horrible coaching", so I'm calling that a lot of bunk.

I have heard that they may have to go with smaller numbers with their groups depending on where they end up for practice sites and how many swimmers these sites can accommodate so there may even be fewer slots, if any, available during tryouts for next year.

Np. I heard JCC is in consideration?

Who’s going to pay for that?

There has been no update since we were told JCC was under consideration. But, I do know the rental fee at the JCC is very expensive, so my guess is it is an unlikely option.

I believe multiple sites are still in play and the likely outcome will be the use of several facilities, as well as smaller groups.

I think you are correct but it would be nice if they’d let us know. They’ve had several years to plan for this. They will probably move some of it to the outdoor pools but they already have summer swim teams and lessons so that may not work until July or August.

So the advanced groups and senior groups at KSAC (or the MAC for those who know) practice at Bethesda Outdoor Pool for most of their summer practices. The non-advanced junior groups and minis do not practice in the summer, so they won't be impacted until the fall session.

You are right, they had years to plan and the change is 3 months away and there is still no plan. This shows the local government bureaucracy at work. Private clubs are able to act aggressively and expand their pool space but the county moves at a glacial pace. Hopefully they can find a plan that works for most families because the coaches at KSAC have built up the site to be the best in the area and would hate to see it crumble. I think a combination of Wheaton-Glenmont and Old Farm Swim and Paddle Tennis would be the options that would keep the most swimmers registered.

I agree with this 100% and hope that any use of Silver Spring for practice is kept the an absolute minimum.

That only works for summer, spring and fall. Too cold in the winter as they are both fully outside.

I don't know about that...I think that might be a historical mindset at this point. That was certainly the sensible planning case to be made 15-20 years ago but with impacts of climate change at play and if the previous two "winters" are to be used as a guide an outside option moving forward may be a viable plan. From what I understand, part of the plan for Glenmont was to enclose the bathrooms so that would make it more feasible to use in winter.

It's a viable plan for spring and fall but not when it gets in the 20-40's. They have a brand new indoor pool. They can hire more staff to extend the hours and RMSC can pay for the coaches parking.

Most other clubs swim outside in the winter at this point. RMSC might need to buy a winter coat and toughen up

Name a single DC-area club that swims outside in winter

2024-2025 RMSCK

[Anonymous]

Name a single DC-area club that swims outside in winter

NCap AU swims at Montgomery Square twice a week outside, year-round
NCap Prep swims at Montgomery Square and one other outdoor site when Prep is closed
Tollefson swims at Inverness twice a week year-round


They only cancel if the air temps are below 30 or if the pool heaters can't get the water temps up to a certain level

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
These comments remind of one of the great quotes from Yogi Berra: "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded"....

Since the RMSC coaching is so bad, all the current families can do is keep paying thousands of dollars every year to keep their kids there and there are over 100 kids trying out for a hand full of slots each summer.

What a topsy-turvy, madcap world we live in!

Yea you, not all of us can afford private teams, especially if kids are in multiple sports or activities. No, you aren’t getting the sports. Earn them like our kids did.

Last I checked, it costs thousands of dollars a year for kids to swim club anywhere, RMSC included, so I'm not buying the "poor house", "can't afford" refrain. And if they end up at Silver Spring, tack another $1k/yr to your burn rate for inconvenient parking.... Nobody is doing all that for "horrible coaching", so I'm calling that a lot of bunk.

I have heard that they may have to go with smaller numbers with their groups depending on where they end up for practice sites and how many swimmers these sites can accommodate so there may even be fewer slots, if any, available during tryouts for next year.

Np. I heard JCC is in consideration?

Who’s going to pay for that?

There has been no update since we were told JCC was under consideration. But, I do know the rental fee at the JCC is very expensive, so my guess is it is an unlikely option.

I believe multiple sites are still in play and the likely outcome will be the use of several facilities, as well as smaller groups.

I think you are correct but it would be nice if they’d let us know. They’ve had several years to plan for this. They will probably move some of it to the outdoor pools but they already have summer swim teams and lessons so that may not work until July or August.

So the advanced groups and senior groups at KSAC (or the MAC for those who know) practice at Bethesda Outdoor Pool for most of their summer practices. The non-advanced junior groups and minis do not practice in the summer, so they won't be impacted until the fall session.

You are right, they had years to plan and the change is 3 months away and there is still no plan. This shows the local government bureaucracy at work. Private clubs are able to act aggressively and expand their pool space but the county moves at a glacial pace. Hopefully they can find a plan that works for most families because the coaches at KSAC have built up the site to be the best in the area and would hate to see it crumble. I think a combination of Wheaton-Glenmont and Old Farm Swim and Paddle Tennis would be the options that would keep the most swimmers registered.

I agree with this 100% and hope that any use of Silver Spring for practice is kept the an absolute minimum.

That only works for summer, spring and fall. Too cold in the winter as they are both fully outside.

I don't know about that...I think that might be a historical mindset at this point. That was certainly the sensible planning case to be made 15-20 years ago but with impacts of climate change at play and if the previous two "winters" are to be used as a guide an outside option moving forward may be a viable plan. From what I understand, part of the plan for Glenmont was to enclose the bathrooms so that would make it more feasible to use in winter.

It's a viable plan for spring and fall but not when it gets in the 20-40's. They have a brand new indoor pool. They can hire more staff to extend the hours and RMSC can pay for the coaches parking.

Most other clubs swim outside in the winter at this point. RMSC might need to buy a winter coat and toughen up

Name a single DC-area club that swims outside in winter

Tollefson and JFD have swam outside in the winter. Many others have also.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
These comments remind of one of the great quotes from Yogi Berra: "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded"....

Since the RMSC coaching is so bad, all the current families can do is keep paying thousands of dollars every year to keep their kids there and there are over 100 kids trying out for a hand full of slots each summer.

What a topsy-turvy, madcap world we live in!

Yea you, not all of us can afford private teams, especially if kids are in multiple sports or activities. No, you aren’t getting the sports. Earn them like our kids did.

Last I checked, it costs thousands of dollars a year for kids to swim club anywhere, RMSC included, so I'm not buying the "poor house", "can't afford" refrain. And if they end up at Silver Spring, tack another $1k/yr to your burn rate for inconvenient parking.... Nobody is doing all that for "horrible coaching", so I'm calling that a lot of bunk.

I have heard that they may have to go with smaller numbers with their groups depending on where they end up for practice sites and how many swimmers these sites can accommodate so there may even be fewer slots, if any, available during tryouts for next year.

Np. I heard JCC is in consideration?

Who’s going to pay for that?

There has been no update since we were told JCC was under consideration. But, I do know the rental fee at the JCC is very expensive, so my guess is it is an unlikely option.

I believe multiple sites are still in play and the likely outcome will be the use of several facilities, as well as smaller groups.

I think you are correct but it would be nice if they’d let us know. They’ve had several years to plan for this. They will probably move some of it to the outdoor pools but they already have summer swim teams and lessons so that may not work until July or August.

So the advanced groups and senior groups at KSAC (or the MAC for those who know) practice at Bethesda Outdoor Pool for most of their summer practices. The non-advanced junior groups and minis do not practice in the summer, so they won't be impacted until the fall session.

You are right, they had years to plan and the change is 3 months away and there is still no plan. This shows the local government bureaucracy at work. Private clubs are able to act aggressively and expand their pool space but the county moves at a glacial pace. Hopefully they can find a plan that works for most families because the coaches at KSAC have built up the site to be the best in the area and would hate to see it crumble. I think a combination of Wheaton-Glenmont and Old Farm Swim and Paddle Tennis would be the options that would keep the most swimmers registered.

I agree with this 100% and hope that any use of Silver Spring for practice is kept the an absolute minimum.

That only works for summer, spring and fall. Too cold in the winter as they are both fully outside.

I don't know about that...I think that might be a historical mindset at this point. That was certainly the sensible planning case to be made 15-20 years ago but with impacts of climate change at play and if the previous two "winters" are to be used as a guide an outside option moving forward may be a viable plan. From what I understand, part of the plan for Glenmont was to enclose the bathrooms so that would make it more feasible to use in winter.

It's a viable plan for spring and fall but not when it gets in the 20-40's. They have a brand new indoor pool. They can hire more staff to extend the hours and RMSC can pay for the coaches parking.

Most other clubs swim outside in the winter at this point. RMSC might need to buy a winter coat and toughen up

Name a single DC-area club that swims outside in winter

2024-2025 RMSCK

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
These comments remind of one of the great quotes from Yogi Berra: "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded"....

Since the RMSC coaching is so bad, all the current families can do is keep paying thousands of dollars every year to keep their kids there and there are over 100 kids trying out for a hand full of slots each summer.

What a topsy-turvy, madcap world we live in!

Yea you, not all of us can afford private teams, especially if kids are in multiple sports or activities. No, you aren’t getting the sports. Earn them like our kids did.

Last I checked, it costs thousands of dollars a year for kids to swim club anywhere, RMSC included, so I'm not buying the "poor house", "can't afford" refrain. And if they end up at Silver Spring, tack another $1k/yr to your burn rate for inconvenient parking.... Nobody is doing all that for "horrible coaching", so I'm calling that a lot of bunk.

I have heard that they may have to go with smaller numbers with their groups depending on where they end up for practice sites and how many swimmers these sites can accommodate so there may even be fewer slots, if any, available during tryouts for next year.

Np. I heard JCC is in consideration?

Who’s going to pay for that?

There has been no update since we were told JCC was under consideration. But, I do know the rental fee at the JCC is very expensive, so my guess is it is an unlikely option.

I believe multiple sites are still in play and the likely outcome will be the use of several facilities, as well as smaller groups.

I think you are correct but it would be nice if they’d let us know. They’ve had several years to plan for this. They will probably move some of it to the outdoor pools but they already have summer swim teams and lessons so that may not work until July or August.

So the advanced groups and senior groups at KSAC (or the MAC for those who know) practice at Bethesda Outdoor Pool for most of their summer practices. The non-advanced junior groups and minis do not practice in the summer, so they won't be impacted until the fall session.

You are right, they had years to plan and the change is 3 months away and there is still no plan. This shows the local government bureaucracy at work. Private clubs are able to act aggressively and expand their pool space but the county moves at a glacial pace. Hopefully they can find a plan that works for most families because the coaches at KSAC have built up the site to be the best in the area and would hate to see it crumble. I think a combination of Wheaton-Glenmont and Old Farm Swim and Paddle Tennis would be the options that would keep the most swimmers registered.

I agree with this 100% and hope that any use of Silver Spring for practice is kept the an absolute minimum.

That only works for summer, spring and fall. Too cold in the winter as they are both fully outside.

Private clubs are practicing outside in winter

This isn’t a private club and it’s too cold in the winter months. They have a brand new pool that was promised to families.

Outside is better than SS. Lots of traffic driving from Bethesda to downtown SS. Pay to park and then risk having your car stolen. Then long drive home. I’d rather swim outdoor close to ksac than do that

Your car isn’t getting stollen. I’d rather go to silver spring than Bethesda.

I mean, if you were already at KSAC you have been going to Bethesda, that is where the site you joined is located.

Technically Rockville, but both are equal distance for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
These comments remind of one of the great quotes from Yogi Berra: "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded"....

Since the RMSC coaching is so bad, all the current families can do is keep paying thousands of dollars every year to keep their kids there and there are over 100 kids trying out for a hand full of slots each summer.

What a topsy-turvy, madcap world we live in!

Yea you, not all of us can afford private teams, especially if kids are in multiple sports or activities. No, you aren’t getting the sports. Earn them like our kids did.

Last I checked, it costs thousands of dollars a year for kids to swim club anywhere, RMSC included, so I'm not buying the "poor house", "can't afford" refrain. And if they end up at Silver Spring, tack another $1k/yr to your burn rate for inconvenient parking.... Nobody is doing all that for "horrible coaching", so I'm calling that a lot of bunk.

I have heard that they may have to go with smaller numbers with their groups depending on where they end up for practice sites and how many swimmers these sites can accommodate so there may even be fewer slots, if any, available during tryouts for next year.

Np. I heard JCC is in consideration?

Who’s going to pay for that?

There has been no update since we were told JCC was under consideration. But, I do know the rental fee at the JCC is very expensive, so my guess is it is an unlikely option.

I believe multiple sites are still in play and the likely outcome will be the use of several facilities, as well as smaller groups.

I think you are correct but it would be nice if they’d let us know. They’ve had several years to plan for this. They will probably move some of it to the outdoor pools but they already have summer swim teams and lessons so that may not work until July or August.

So the advanced groups and senior groups at KSAC (or the MAC for those who know) practice at Bethesda Outdoor Pool for most of their summer practices. The non-advanced junior groups and minis do not practice in the summer, so they won't be impacted until the fall session.

You are right, they had years to plan and the change is 3 months away and there is still no plan. This shows the local government bureaucracy at work. Private clubs are able to act aggressively and expand their pool space but the county moves at a glacial pace. Hopefully they can find a plan that works for most families because the coaches at KSAC have built up the site to be the best in the area and would hate to see it crumble. I think a combination of Wheaton-Glenmont and Old Farm Swim and Paddle Tennis would be the options that would keep the most swimmers registered.

I agree with this 100% and hope that any use of Silver Spring for practice is kept the an absolute minimum.

That only works for summer, spring and fall. Too cold in the winter as they are both fully outside.

I don't know about that...I think that might be a historical mindset at this point. That was certainly the sensible planning case to be made 15-20 years ago but with impacts of climate change at play and if the previous two "winters" are to be used as a guide an outside option moving forward may be a viable plan. From what I understand, part of the plan for Glenmont was to enclose the bathrooms so that would make it more feasible to use in winter.

It's a viable plan for spring and fall but not when it gets in the 20-40's. They have a brand new indoor pool. They can hire more staff to extend the hours and RMSC can pay for the coaches parking.

Most other clubs swim outside in the winter at this point. RMSC might need to buy a winter coat and toughen up

Name a single DC-area club that swims outside in winter

Tollefson and JFD have swam outside in the winter. Many others have also.

Yea for them. RMSC doesn't and there is a brand new pool available. Most of our kids have parka's but that's not healthy to be out like that for 90 minutes or longer.

[Anonymous]

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Name a single DC-area club that swims outside in winter

NCap AU swims at Montgomery Square twice a week outside, year-round
NCap Prep swims at Montgomery Square and one other outdoor site when Prep is closed
Tollefson swims at Inverness twice a week year-round


They only cancel if the air temps are below 30 or if the pool heaters can't get the water temps up to a certain level


What does this have to do with anything? No RMSC group swims outside in the winter. Those parents agreed to it, we did not.

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These comments remind of one of the great quotes from Yogi Berra: "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded"....

Since the RMSC coaching is so bad, all the current families can do is keep paying thousands of dollars every year to keep their kids there and there are over 100 kids trying out for a hand full of slots each summer.

What a topsy-turvy, madcap world we live in!

Yea you, not all of us can afford private teams, especially if kids are in multiple sports or activities. No, you aren’t getting the sports. Earn them like our kids did.

Last I checked, it costs thousands of dollars a year for kids to swim club anywhere, RMSC included, so I'm not buying the "poor house", "can't afford" refrain. And if they end up at Silver Spring, tack another $1k/yr to your burn rate for inconvenient parking.... Nobody is doing all that for "horrible coaching", so I'm calling that a lot of bunk.

I have heard that they may have to go with smaller numbers with their groups depending on where they end up for practice sites and how many swimmers these sites can accommodate so there may even be fewer slots, if any, available during tryouts for next year.

Np. I heard JCC is in consideration?

Who’s going to pay for that?

There has been no update since we were told JCC was under consideration. But, I do know the rental fee at the JCC is very expensive, so my guess is it is an unlikely option.

I believe multiple sites are still in play and the likely outcome will be the use of several facilities, as well as smaller groups.

I think you are correct but it would be nice if they’d let us know. They’ve had several years to plan for this. They will probably move some of it to the outdoor pools but they already have summer swim teams and lessons so that may not work until July or August.

So the advanced groups and senior groups at KSAC (or the MAC for those who know) practice at Bethesda Outdoor Pool for most of their summer practices. The non-advanced junior groups and minis do not practice in the summer, so they won't be impacted until the fall session.

You are right, they had years to plan and the change is 3 months away and there is still no plan. This shows the local government bureaucracy at work. Private clubs are able to act aggressively and expand their pool space but the county moves at a glacial pace. Hopefully they can find a plan that works for most families because the coaches at KSAC have built up the site to be the best in the area and would hate to see it crumble. I think a combination of Wheaton-Glenmont and Old Farm Swim and Paddle Tennis would be the options that would keep the most swimmers registered.

I agree with this 100% and hope that any use of Silver Spring for practice is kept the an absolute minimum.

That only works for summer, spring and fall. Too cold in the winter as they are both fully outside.

I don't know about that...I think that might be a historical mindset at this point. That was certainly the sensible planning case to be made 15-20 years ago but with impacts of climate change at play and if the previous two "winters" are to be used as a guide an outside option moving forward may be a viable plan. From what I understand, part of the plan for Glenmont was to enclose the bathrooms so that would make it more feasible to use in winter.

It's a viable plan for spring and fall but not when it gets in the 20-40's. They have a brand new indoor pool. They can hire more staff to extend the hours and RMSC can pay for the coaches parking.

Most other clubs swim outside in the winter at this point. RMSC might need to buy a winter coat and toughen up

Name a single DC-area club that swims outside in winter

Tollefson and JFD have swam outside in the winter. Many others have also.

Yea for them. RMSC doesn't and there is a brand new pool available. Most of our kids have parka's but that's not healthy to be out like that for 90 minutes or longer.

Silver Spring is not available to absorb all of the KSAC groups year round for all of the 2+ years that would be needed, that's the issue. If it were, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

Also, if you project these negative and fragile sensibilities on your child like you are doing here, you are not doing them any favors and are not going to help them mentally adapt to this transition and their new reality moving forward.

The glass if half-full and these are very first world struggles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Name a single DC-area club that swims outside in winter

NCap AU swims at Montgomery Square twice a week outside, year-round
NCap Prep swims at Montgomery Square and one other outdoor site when Prep is closed
Tollefson swims at Inverness twice a week year-round


They only cancel if the air temps are below 30 or if the pool heaters can't get the water temps up to a certain level

What does this have to do with anything? No RMSC group swims outside in the winter. Those parents agreed to it, we did not.


Nothing is happening until next year. You'll have clarity and a new agreement to sign off on in August. It may very well include swimming outside when it's cold. You can opt out then.

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Anonymous wrote:Following this conversation out of curiosity. My children swim in NoVA, so I know very little about RMSC. I keep seeing people referencing private clubs versus RMSC, which has me confused. (While many clubs lease space from public rec centers, I am unaware of any public clubs in NoVA.) Is RMSC a county-run program? How does that work?

RMSC is a private "non-profit" but they have collaboration with the county and get the use of the pools for free/dominate the county indoor pools. (Summer leagues are run by the county). For the city of Rockville location, it's a collaboration between the county and city so they get even more discounted rates but it's the hardest one to get into. They are cheaper than private clubs that have to rent space, some groups are much cheaper, some not. A few years ago they raised the rates a lot, which made no sense when they are getting the pool time for free. They claimed it was for salaries but some groups have 50-60 kids and 2-4 coaches (a few coaches talked about here as bad are the groups with fewer coaches as no one wants to work with them).

Montgomery County does now allow private swim teams to rent from the county and they have to use/rent private pools through JCC, HOA's, private pools, and some of the private schools that have pools, which makes it much more expensive.

http://rmscswimming.com

That's factually inaccurate.

They are not paying for pool time.

Every time this comes up, I beg someone to find the financials. I have tried and come up empty. But, I have a hard time believing RMSC as a business pays nothing to the County (or City for Rockville).

It would help RMSC to actually publish this and clear up some misunderstandings and complaints, or at the least be transparent.

Rec Department and county government sites are mine fields. Hard to find this data. But yes, county rmsc sites do not pay for pool time directly. Swimmer fees cover 1) coaches pay 2) meet/USA swimming fees 3) administrative costs (think county bureaucrats who work in aquatics). The increased price of rmsc in recent years is driven by a push to cover more of these expensive and to raise coaches pay substantially. My understanding is it used to be about a $15/hour job and now it’s in the ballpark of $25.

It is important to keep up with other clubs, because coaches do leave for this reason.